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Rich People problems

US and Canada represent 5% of the world’s population but almost 30% of the world’s wealth.  Africa is home to double the world’s population yet only 1.5% of the world’s wealth. (source)

Yet when polled, 98% of American’s considered themselves NOT rich. 

Rich is a moving target one that apparently only 2% of Americans (the richest countries in the world) feel they ever reach. 

If you were to ask me if I were rich I would have said no…but I think I had a perspective problem. 

From Craig Groeschel’s book “weird” he met a young man who heard “stories” of rich people that lived like this:

“There are some people who are so rich, they own a car!  I think it’s only 3 to 5% of people in the world so not many, but some people are so rich, they own TWO cars!  Some of these people even have a house for their cars!  It’s called a garage, …then they get in their cars and they eat at restaurants, they are so rich they pay other people to make their food and serve it to them!…Some of these people are so rich they have special rooms in their home just for their clothes!  Nobody sleeps in there, only clothes on hangers and shelves like a store.  Some are so rich they have a closet for the man and for the woman.  Clothes for hot weather, cold weather, some for work, some for church.  It’s crazy! “

What’s crazy is how blind I have been to how MUCH I have compared to how little so many others have. 

What’s crazy is how I sit here in my comfy pajamas and type on my computer, the hum of the TV in the background, a full belly, and pretend I don’t have it made!!

I am realizing how BLESSED I am and thinking twice before I complain about ANYTHING.   I am shifting more toward living in gratitude instead of want. 

Here are some things I could be prone to complain about lately:

  •  I backed my husband’s car (because we have two cars) into the side of the garage (because we have a garage).
  • I can’t decide what to wear because I have so many choices! 
  • And my house could use another de-cluttering.  Because we can afford “clutter.”

 

 

I will take these “problems” any day over not knowing where I will sleep or if I will eat tonight.


Check out Rich Word Problems.  It’s a blog dedicated to all the humors stuff we complain about like:

  • I lost my phone and it’s on silent
  • I just updated my status with important news, one hour later, no comments. 
  • My computer is operating at least 1 second slower that it did yesterday.   
  • I just got used to the old facebook and then they changed it again!

Let’s encourage each other to live in gratitude and laugh at all of our “rich people problems.”

We have a LOT to be thankful for.

What is something silly you have complained about lately?  

Kisses from Katie

Today’s post testimony of Katie Davis.  Recently Catalyst conference couldn’t keep her book on the shelves!  It  has become a NY times best seller.  Read her story to find out why:

Katie Davis, beautiful girl next door from Tennessee.  She was homecoming queen, drove a convertible, and planned to go to college.

After high school she went to Uganda for an opportunity to teach kindergarten at an orphanage in a small village.

It was supposed to be a 10 month commitment.

She experienced  poverty, hurt, and oppression on a whole new level.  She knew she had to do something, anything, to help. 

“Mothers feed their children dirt or the dregs from the local alcohol distillery, or they sneak out at night and sell their bodies in order to put a little food on the table in the morning. Babies are left in pit latrines. People are degraded, robbed, raped, and lied to, and a large yellow sun sparkles on the vast expanse of the Nile River. It is horrifying. And yet God is before all things and in Him all things hold together, and even in the hard and the ugly there is beauty.”

-Katie Davis describing Uganda (source)

One night, in January 2008, a mud hut down the road from the orphanage collapsed on three small orphans during a rainstorm. Davis couldn’t find any living relatives willing to take any of the girls, and she refused to send them to an overcrowded orphanage.

Three days later, the youngest called her mom. 

Davis then rented a house to accommodate the three girls. Over the next 18 months, 10 more girls moved in, all from different circumstances. 

Today, 22 year old Katie is the mom to 13 girls and living in Uganda.  Believe it or not, that is just the beginning of Katie’s ministry!

 

She has established a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization called Amazima Ministries International.  In the Luganda language, Amazima means “truth.”

Amazima offers a child sponsorship program, matching orphaned and vulnerable children who are unable to afford schooling with sponsors anywhere in the world. Sponsors pay $300 per year to send one child to school, providing school supplies, 3 hot meals each day, spiritual discipleship, and medical care.

Originally planning to have 40 children in the program, today the program sponsors over 400 children.

Katie also reached out to the Karimojong people of the Masese community. The poorest of the poor, and losing their children to malnutrition and starvation at an astounding rate. She started a feeding program to the community, nourishing over 1,600 children. This allows the children to attend school and therefore not go to the street to beg. Also provided is medical care, Bible study, and general health training.

As friendships developed with the Karimojong people, Katie wanted to help the women in the village provide for their families. She initiated a self-sustaining vocational program to empower these women to make unique Ugandan magazine bead necklaces. They are also taught money management skills. The necklaces made by the Karimojong women are purchased and sold in the United States. (Christmas gifts anyone??)

 

 

Katie says, “People tell me I am brave. People tell me I am strong. People tell me good job. Well here is the truth of it. I am really not that brave, I am not really that strong, and I am not doing anything spectacular. I am just doing what God called me to do as a follower of Him. Feed His sheep, do unto the least of His people.”

Redeeming Halloween

Costumes and trick or treating, and ghosts and ghoul everywhere. Where did it come from?  Am I a bad Christian if I want to join the party?  I did a little homework and here’s what I found out:

Halloween has a questionable past no doubt, but so do I so I’m not one to judge. :)

It dates back to the medieval times with the Celtic people marking the change of the light of summer to the darkness of winter when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts.  Apparently a lot of people died this time of year so there was much symbolism in warding off death. 

You can also trace the origin of Halloween back to the Christian tradition of celebrating the lives of Christian martyrs on the anniversaries of their deaths. Pope Gregory  dedicated a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica to “all saints” on November 1.  This became All Saints Day, otherwise known as All Hallow’s Day. The night before became All Hallow’s Eve.  Hence the name Halloween. 

As Christianity moved through Europe the two collided. The organized church would commonly move a distinctively Christian holiday to a spot on the calendar that would directly challenge a pagan holiday. The intent was to counter pagan influences and provide a Christian alternative. But most often the church only succeeded in “Christianizing” a pagan ritual–the ritual was still pagan, but mixed with Christian symbolism. That’s what happened to All Saints Eve–it was the original Halloween alternative! (source).

What to do? Mark Driscool suggests at every holiday we must choose to Reject it, Embrace it, or Redeem it.

 

Rejecting it won’t change anything, or anyone.  Embracing it makes us just like the world, so I vote we Redeem it!  And here are a few fun ideas to help!

 

  • Reverse trick or treat.  Our church does a really cool thing with the children’s ministry where they go to lower income neighborhoods and give out candy and toys and just play with the kids. 
  • Give fair trade candy.  “Candy with a conscience” they call it.  The chocolate industry is one of the most corrupt.  I am probably not going to win a lot of friends by saying that but check into where your candy comes from.  If not fair trade, Mars or Nestle products are good choices.  They voluntarily provide child labor-free chocolate. Hershey, not so much.
  • Spend time with your family.  Do something fun and “fall-ish” together.  Lots of ideas here.
  • Dress modestly.  I’m not one to grow my hair long and strictly wear long skirts but seriously ladies, you are God’s precious daughter and way to beautiful to wear “costumes” that are so skimpy. 

* Update.  Great comments on this one! 

 

  • Jamie suggested redeeming Halloween by taking advantage of the huge opportunity to minister to the community while the neighborhood is out and about, coming right to our door. On the one night that everyone comes to me, I don’t want to have my lights turned out. We are also redeeming the Holiday this year is by taking our youth ministry trick or treating for canned food for the homeless shelter

 

Evil spirits are no more active and sinister on Halloween than they are on any other day of the year.  But “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

 

 

 

What do you think about Halloween?  What are your plans this year?

The story behind the barcode

As long as I can remember I have been a bargain shopper.  My mom taught me to shop for bathing suits in the September and winter coats in May.  I have never been a stranger to the clearance racks or couponing.

But here I am in turmoil over my purchases.  I am realizing there is so much more to consider than just a good deal. 

I just read the Social justice handbook.  It was an amazing eye opening book encouraging action over apathy.  A quote:

Everyday we are confronted by challenging societal problems, from poverty and institutional racism to AIDS and homelessness.  It can all seem so overwhelming.  But while none of us can do everything, all of us can do something. 

Social justice is a huge issue.  One I only wish to be able to entirely explain, but for starters, let’s talk about shopping:

If I were to ask you if you wanted to support a company that had slave labor you would, of course, say no.  But unfortunately every time we make a purchase we “vote” for what we think are acceptable company practices. 

Practices like exposure to toxic chemicals, low to no wages (slave labor), sexual harassment and child labor.  The International Labor Organization estimates that seventy percent of working children are in agriculture – over 132 million girls and boys aged 5-14 years old. Source

It is certainly easier to turn a blind eye to it but if Christians a.k.a. the hands and feet of Jesus don’t do something about it than who will?

But don’t worry, I’m not trying to ruin all your shopping fun.  There is good news and easy ways to examine your purchases before you buy:

Research

Free2Work is a really cool company that grades companies on a scale of “A” to “F” based on supply chain transparency, code of conduct, response to child and forced labor, and overall efforts to empower workers. Plus they have a free ap that lets you easily search for companies making your “research” a snap! 

Good Guide is a similar company only the also grade the company on it’s health and environmental impact.  They have a free ap that lets you scan the barcode!

Had I been a little wiser the last time i bought tennis shoes I would not have bought Sketchers, who have a grade F, and would have looked at maybe some Adidas, or Nikes who have a grade A (Nike’s have come a long way!  Go Nike!).

Buy Second Hand

I’m a big fan of second hand shopping. Yard sales, thrift stores, and hand me downs are all fabulous ways to “shop”.

When you buy something second hand the damage from the store (and factory) has already been made.  Second hand shopping means you are supporting a local family yard sale, a church fund raiser, or a charity like goodwill or salvation army.  Plus who doesn’t get excited about a super cute pair of jeans for $1! 

 

Just because we don’t see what our dollars are supporting doesn’t make it any less real. I believe company greed and slave labor is something that breaks God’s heart.  Let us LIVE the gospel with our dollars and “vote” yes to companies that are practicing good ethics. 

Share your thoughts on all this! Anyone have any tips on how you shop ethical? 

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What does God look like?

We all have different images in our head of what God looks like.  I used to picture God as an old man with a long beard throwing lightning bolts.  Anybody else with me on this one? 

But then I read his love story to us, the bible, and I read, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” 1 John 4:12

“God is LOVE” is mentioned in one form or another 48 times in the bible.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.  If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.  1John 3:16-18

We recently had a family DONATE A CAR to another member of our church.  It was an anonymous donation and they didn’t receive any form of payment or recognition.  In this I see what God’s economy should look like.  When Christians share their resources. 

I am privileged to be friends with a family who just went on an overseas mission trip.  They worked in an orphanage in Haiti, they fell so in love with an 8 year old little girl they are currently seeing lawyers, and saving up money to adopt this little girl into their family.  In this I see God’s love for ALL children. 

I read about this couple who walked through infidelity and a marriage falling apart.  After viewing the passion of the Christ the husband said, “How could I not forgive her, when I have been forgiven of so much?”  They are now doing well and blog about their journey.  In this I see God’s forgiveness of all my wrongs. 

A family that has been kind enough toshare their story in this place, grew tired of spending all their time keeping up with the status quo.  They sold all of their belongings and travel the country in their new home, a RV.  Their sole purpose is to minister to people and spread love.  In this I see God loves people much more than stuff. 

If Jesus is all he claims to be then we loose NOTHING when we give it all away. 

I don’t know what God looks like, but I get a pretty good idea when I see his people, created in HIS image, BE the body of Christ.  Working, serving, giving, and sharing not for their benefit, but because the Jesus they serve would have done the same thing. 

Share your thoughts.  How have you seen God lately? 

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Seeds family worship CD giveaway

Memorizing scripture to the tune of a GOOD, non-cheezy, ROCKIN, song??? Sign me up for that! 

Seeds family worship is a really cool organization of crazy talented artist who sing songs that you want to listen to…PLUS the lyrics are taken straight from scripture!  So you are rocking out AND arming yourself with the word of God!  How cool is that?

Taken from their website:

Seeds Family Worship was planted when worship leader, Jason Houser, was asked to write some songs to help kids remember the verses from his church’s summer Bible school.

Jason began writing songs and singing them for the kids and families at church. The songs were well-crafted, catchy, and taken straight from scripture. Families liked them. . . a lot.

From just a handful of songs, Seeds Family Worship was planted – providing God’s Word set to music for thousands of families all over the world.

Now seeds of worship has grown so much it has just released it’s sixth CD!!

Our girls and I have been rocking out for a week now and I smile from ear to ear when I look in the rear view mirror to see our 3 year old singing and dancing along.  But the music isn’t just for kids.  I listen to it whether they are in the car, or not.  It is seriously just as good, if not better than many of the songs on the radio!  But don’t take my word for it check them out here:

1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on your because you are young…” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI-P0uRIcPQ&feature=related

Psalm 55:22 “Cast Your Cares on the Lord and He will sustain you…” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc9pEb-Ej7U&feature=related

My friend Bessie is the one who told me about Seeds and this is what she said:

After watching several of their videos on You Tube, right away I was hooked!  I found their home page and began to learn more about them. For every CD you buy, you get another one free to give away! The idea is to plant seeds. Spread the Word. The songs are so good, the group really ROCKS!!

I’ve learned so many scriptures from the 3 CDs we bought, and they stay in my head all day long. What a better way to think about such things and live out Phil. 4:8? I’ve given them for birthday presents, and I think there’s not a better gift to give. Your whole family, kids and adults and teens alike will love the catchy tunes and be learning and focusing on God’s word together! I can’t say enough about what Seed Family Worship has done for my family and I!

PS…Seeds Family Worship will also travel to your church to perform and teach children’s worship leaders how to plant seeds! I hope they come to an area near me soon!


What if Jesus meant all that stuff?

Today is a post written by Shane Claiborne.  It is an article I have read many times published in Esquire magazine.  It is so well said…


To all my non-believing, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.

Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.

The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. But over the past few decades our Christianity, at least here in the United States, has become less and less fascinating. We have given the atheists less and less to disbelieve. And the sort of Christianity many of us have seen on TV and heard on the radio looks less and less like Jesus.

At one point Gandhi was asked if he was a Christian, and he said, essentially, “I sure love Jesus, but the Christians seem so unlike their Christ.” A recent study showed that the top three perceptions of Christians in the U. S. among young non-Christians are that Christians are 1) antigay, 2) judgmental, and 3) hypocritical. So what we have here is a bit of an image crisis, and much of that reputation is well deserved. That’s the ugly stuff. And that’s why I begin by saying that I’m sorry.

Now for the good news.

I want to invite you to consider that maybe the televangelists and street preachers are wrong — and that God really is love. Maybe the fruits of the Spirit really are beautiful things like peace, patience, kindness, joy, love, goodness, and not the ugly things that have come to characterize religion.

The Bible that I read says that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to save it… it was because “God so loved the world.” That is the God I know, and I long for others to know. I did not choose to devote my life to Jesus because I was scared to death of hell or because I wanted crowns in heaven… but because he is good. For those of you who are on a sincere spiritual journey, I hope that you do not reject Christ because of Christians. We have always been a messed-up bunch, and somehow God has survived the embarrassing things we do in His name. At the core of our “Gospel” is the message that Jesus came “not [for] the healthy… but the sick.” And if you choose Jesus, may it not be simply because of a fear of hell or hope for mansions in heaven.

Don’t get me wrong, I still believe in the afterlife, but too often all the church has done is promise the world that there is life after death and use it as a ticket to ignore the hells around us. I am convinced that the Christian Gospel has as much to do with this life as the next, and that the message of that Gospel is not just about going up when we die but about bringing God’s Kingdom down. It was Jesus who taught us to pray that God’s will be done “on earth as it is in heaven.” On earth.

One of Jesus’ most scandalous stories is the story of the Good Samaritan. As sentimental as we may have made it, the original story was about a man who gets beat up and left on the side of the road. A priest passes by. A Levite, the quintessential religious guy, also passes by on the other side (perhaps late for a meeting at church). And then comes the Samaritan… you can almost imagine a snicker in the Jewish crowd. Jews did not talk to Samaritans, or even walk through Samaria. But the Samaritan stops and takes care of the guy in the ditch and is lifted up as the hero of the story. I’m sure some of the listeners were ticked. According to the religious elite, Samaritans did not keep the right rules, and they did not have sound doctrine… but Jesus shows that true faith has to work itself out in a way that is Good News to the most bruised and broken person lying in the ditch.

It is so simple, but the pious forget this lesson constantly. God may indeed be evident in a priest, but God is just as likely to be at work through a Samaritan or a prostitute. In fact the Scripture is brimful of God using folks like a lying prostitute named Rahab, an adulterous king named David… at one point God even speaks to a guy named Balaam through his donkey.

Some say God spoke to Balaam through his ass and has been speaking through asses ever since. So if God should choose to use us, then we should be grateful but not think too highly of ourselves. And if upon meeting someone we think God could never use, we should think again.

After all, Jesus says to the religious elite who looked down on everybody else: “The tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom ahead of you.” And we wonder what got him killed?

In fact, the entire story of Jesus is about a God who did not just want to stay “out there” but who moves into the neighborhood, a neighborhood where folks said, “Nothing good could come.” It is this Jesus who was accused of being a glutton and drunkard and rabble-rouser for hanging out with all of society’s rejects, and who died on the imperial cross of Rome reserved for bandits and failed messiahs. This is why the triumph over the cross was a triumph over everything ugly we do to ourselves and to others. It is the final promise that love wins.

It is this Jesus who was born in a stank manger in the middle of a genocide. That is the God that we are just as likely to find in the streets as in the sanctuary, who can redeem revolutionaries and tax collectors, the oppressed and the oppressors… a God who is saving some of us from the ghettos of poverty, and some of us from the ghettos of wealth.

In closing, to those who have closed the door on religion — I was recently asked by a non-Christian friend if I thought he was going to hell. I said, “I hope not. It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you.” If those of us who believe in God do not believe God’s grace is big enough to save the whole world… well, we should at least pray that it is.

Your brother,
Shane

Full article here

His book Irresistible revolution will rock your world!  It is one of my all time favorites! 

Share your thoughts…What do you think of this article? 

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How to argue with your spouse

My husband and I celebrated SEVEN years of marriage this past weekend (woo hoo!).  To celebrate we went to a Winshape “Courageous Hearts” retreat in Rome, GA.

Inspired by the quote, “the best thing you can give your kids is a good marriage” we took an intentional getaway designed not for couples in crisis, just couples that want the BEST marriage possible.  Our weekend was full of RELAXATION, no distractions (it is media free), time together, and time to learn how to be even better together.

Truett Cathy (yes the founder of Chick-fil-A) founded Winshape with the purpose of shaping “winners”  and shaping winning marriages is one of the things they do great…plus we had excellent customer service and lots of “my pleasure.”

The ropes course: 

I learned so much I will probably be writing about it forever but most importantly was a really cool lesson on “how to argue with your spouse” led by Todd Sandel (who did an awesome job!)  Here is what I learned:

Rarely are arguments about only the issue at hand.  More often a “fear button” has been pushed and we are reacting because of the fear button, not the issue.  Let me give you an example:

The wife is watching HGTV, she says, “oh honey look, I would love to do that to our kitchen!”  He hears “I am not a good enough provider and you would like to do that to our kitchen tomorrow.” 

His fear button of, “I”m not good enough” was pushed.  He reacts by saying, “Don’t you remember the budget talk?  Why would you bring that up now when we just paid for dance lessons?” 

She reacts by using “you always” or “we never”  because now her button of “I’m not being heard or my opinion isn’t valued” is pushed. 

And so the cycle continues. 

The issue is no longer about the plans for the kitchen but a husband who doesn’t feel valued and a wife who doesn’t feel heard. 

After a little practice you can quickly identify when you get in the cycle and deal with the “buttons” instead of just arguing in circles. 

If the buttons are identified early, the argument would end before it had a chance to start.  Imagine a tennis match:

Serve: That kitchen on HGTV is Beautiful!
Return: Don’t you remember the budget talk?
AH HA! Your button was pushed.  Argument ender: I’m sorry I didn’t intend that we remodel anytime soon if ever.  It’s just a show I enjoy. Thank you for providing us with a home when so many have so little. (ok maybe that’s a little over the top…but I guarantee that would end the argument!) 

Repair & Reconnect

My fear button of _________ got pushed

I reacted by __________

How ever the truth about my value is  __________

What I really long for is ____________

Marriage is the foundation of the family.  If you are married…I hope this will help you argue less, and voice your differences with love. 

-Katie

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Following a rock star

In Jesus’ day most young Jewish boys aspired to be rabbis.  Rabbis were the most honored and respected people anywhere.  Children started off in school learning the Torah.  By age 10 children who made the cut had MEMORIZED the torah, (yes that means ALL of the first 5 books of the bible).  Only the best of the best continued on to the next level of schooling where the entire Hebrew scripture was memorized.  Genesis-Malachi, MEMORIZED.  Only the best of the best made it through this level of schooling, By the age of 16 the few that had made it this far applied to apprentice under a Rabbi.  The Rabbis would grill them with questions, to decide, is this kid good enough to do what I do?
Info and more details here

Most didn’t make it far enough to apprentice under a Rabbi, much less be chosen.  The majority who didn’t make the cut were learning the family trade. 

All 12 of Jesus’ disciples were doing ordinary trade jobs, meaning they didn’t make the cut to become Rabbis.  Yet a rabbi came up to them and said “follow me.” 

It is much like a young guitarist having Jimi Hendrix saying, “hey come follow me”  Or a young band practicing in their parent’s garage  having the Rolling Stones say, “Would you like to go on tour with us?”

He says not just come follow me, but “I think you are good enough to do what I do.”

That means you!! Yes you are good enough! 

But I didn’t make the cut
But I’m not spiritual enough
But I don’t know all the answers

Jesus made us with great detail.  He only makes masterpieces and he thinks YOU are good enough to follow the GOD OF ALL THE UNIVERSE!!

Having faith in Jesus is important but what about Jesus faith in us?  He must have faith in us, he tells us to “go make disciples of all nations” 

We cannot all be missionaries over seas but we are all missionaries right where we are standing.  Wherever you are today is your current mission field.  Spread his word, befriend the friendless, show mercy when it is unexpected and most of all LOVE.

Your are loaded with potential because you are loaded with Jesus!  We can change the world if we fully grasp that we are following a rock star!!  What an amazing and honorable position we have!!! 

The gates of hell should tremble in fear when our feet hit the floor in the morning! 

Jesus is the most famous name in all the earth.  The calendar changed from BC to AD when he was born. He is the biggest phenomenon to ever cross the horizon!  He is a miracle maker, the only one ever qualified to be a savoir, and the only god to raise from the dead. 

And he says to us today, “Come follow me”

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I want a new type of Christianity that isn’t new at all

I think somewhere along the way we started defining Christians as those who don’t drink or cuss, and have a fish symbol on the back of their car.  A well behaved, church going, middle classed American occasionally sporting a “Jesus is my homeboy” shirt.

Is that what Jesus died for? 

God is really big…I mean REALLY BIG.  He created the whole world, every crazy creature from bugs to whales, the galaxies, the plants, and the amazing machine that is the human body.  And with all of this he said man was his most prized creation.  With great detail he made each of us in his image.  He created us with a will.  To choose to love him…or not. 

He could have very easily just made us love him…but that wouldn’t be true love. It wasn’t long before we messed up pretty bad.  The gap became so great between a Holy God and a sinful man that only a cross, with an innocent sacrifice could bridge the divide.  None of us could pay the price….so he sent his son to pay it for us. 

That is a love so deep I still can’t wrap my head around it.   It’s like giving one of our children to pay for a crime they didn’t commit! 

It is a relentless, self-less, all consuming, heart wrenching love. 

We are loved by a GOD, more than any human could ever love us.  That is huge!    I just feel like our response should be a little more than just not drinking or cussing.

I desire a “new” type of Christianity that really isn’t new at all.   A Christianity that worries less about appearances and more about carrying each other’s burdens. Christians that desire to live simply so that others may simply live.  A people so overwhelmed with love from God, that they can’t help but pour it out to everyone they meet.

When we truly grasp how much we are loved, we can’t help but love him back.   We will want to fellowship with Him by getting our hands dirty serving.  We will want to give others grace because we realize how much grace has been given to us.  We will want to love others even though they don’t deserve it, because that is the kind of love that was show to us.

I love your comments.  What do you think?

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